ELI FRIED: This is the root cause of the Tuition Crisis

95

(VINnews) — Financial advisor Eli Fried, who has been tackling the ‘parnassah crisis’, has posted another LinkedIn message about the struggles being faced by the frum community. Fried says that the “key root cause” of the yeshiva tuition challenges plaguing the frum world is the “lack of government funding.”

Join our WhatsApp group

Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email


Fried made it pretty clear that he was not attempting to cite evidence or data to support his assertion, rather it was “IMHO”. While it is clear that if the government would fully support private schools, it would solve or mitigate the tuition crisis, that does not necessitate that the root cause is a lack of government funding. It is plausible that there is no one cause, rather it’s a confluence of factors resulting in the cost of yeshiva education being prohibitively expensive.

It should be noted that when he spoke at the Agudah convention, Fried advocated for people lobbying for school choice legislation, saying that now may be an opportune time, with the Trump administration and Republicans in power.

Fried posted:

Yeshivah tuition challenges? In short, the key root cause is NOT:

Overpricing
Inefficiency
“Owners”
Stingy donors
Apathetic parents
Lack of endowments
Donuts and marble lobbies

IT’S LACK OF GOVERNMENT FUNDING.

Lack of school choice.

Pay property taxes.
Pay tax on your income.
Pay tuition on top of that.

This is a multi-billion dollar drain annually.

We CAN and SHOULD tinker with the other cost factors (pricing, efficiency, fair burden distribution, increased donations, better transparency etc. )

But the problem needs to be addressed at its root.

Everything else is slapping Band-Aids.

And there’s never been a better time than now to

ADVOCATE FOR SCHOOL CHOICE

Follow VINnews for Breaking News Updates


Connect with VINnews

Join our WhatsApp group

95 Comments
Most Voted
Newest Oldest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Floridian
Floridian
1 month ago

In Florida the state gives $9,000 for every child no matter what the parents’ income i.
Every yeshivah raised their tuition by $9,000 !

Parents that can’t afford it are out of luck.

They should have required every school to take in children whose parents cannot afford it for that $9,000

jay
jay
1 month ago

maybe the root cause is that we spend on things that we are not entitled to spend on. Lavish homes, fancy cars, vacations 4 -6 times a year, trips to Israel, daughters going to seminary, and of course bringing them home for Pesach and traveling to Israel to visit them, boys going to Israel to learn and us going to visit them, fancy restaurants.
We have never been as well off as we are today since the Churban, and we are not living in a Jewish life style.
Very simple— if one is not paying full tuition, it means someone else is paying for him. So that means the person is accepting TZEDAKA.

Sara
Sara
1 month ago

I agree for a simple reason. Even assuming a family was making $150,000 which in America today is a fabulous income.
They have 6-7 kids in school or more or less. Even if the MINIMUM cheapest tuition (which is ridiculously low) they got charged $7000 a child that is over $40,000
That’s on top of housing, food, health insurance, taxes, etc
Housing costs in Jewish areas are pretty high
Insurance is insane
Which family has even $40k so easily? And again, most schools are easily double that amount. Even a family making a nice salary cannot pay full tuition they won’t have enough to buy bread. It’s simple math. Education is expensive and our families are big and life is expensive.

meyer lansky
meyer lansky
1 month ago

How about lets cut down or get rid of the hundreds of non for profit frum causes that raise millions when we all know they dont need these millions but they are professional fundraisers giving high salaries to themselves, hoarding millions for family and friends lifestyles and lets start a non for profit for yeshiva tuition, maybe chai lifeline, bonei olam, ECT…… THE AGUDAH, torah umesorah, if every frum non for profit on the map could help chip in 10% the crisis would be solved, lets not be naive non for profit is very for profit just like or lets do chinese auction for tuition. The answer is to simply start a tuition non for profit organization and market it just like HATZOLAH, I think educating jewish children is sakones nefoshas just like HATZOLAH, there is no reason why supporting the current non for profits come before yeshiva tuition.I think instead of ADOPT A KOLLEL ????when clearly tuition comes first in the community why not Adopt a jewish child tuition

zev
zev
1 month ago

the root cause is not lack of government funding- that’s just an excuse for a hand out. the root cause is everyone wanting to sit an learn all day and let.someone else pay the tab. when the goal of the shidduch world is for 20 something boys and girls to find a shviger to support sitting and learning all day, the money eventually runs out- THAT’S the root cuase.

Noach
Noach
1 month ago

FL & OH prove it’s not the sole cause.

Gimpel Brier
Gimpel Brier
1 month ago

Rabbi Fried i humbly disagree, The fact that schools refuse to discuss why they need the specific numbers they asks that stinks. sorry. So the orah umersorah rate that it costs 15 k to educate a student is the same by the modex schools and yeshivishe ones. intresting that they dont pay te same salaries at all.!!!Not one admin got up by agudah and torah umesorah with a basic spreadsheet. u know why? simple we will shred them the same way they shred us! If u ask parents what the schools could cut down on TO MAKE TUITION MORE AFFORDABLE YOU WILL BE SUPRISED AT THE ANSWERS.1. WHY DO U NEED THE HIGH END PRODUCTS WHEN YOU ORDER. I.E WE NEED TO GET THE MORE EXPENSIVE BUILDING”’ WE NEED IT. NO U DONT. U NEED A BUILDING THAT SAFE AND CLEAN. NOT A 24 MILLION DOLLAR PROJECT THAT CAN BE DONE 12 MILION IF U CONVERT A WAREHOUSE. EVER SAW A BASIC DESK IN A ADMINS OFFICE? EVER SAW EXACT STAFF THAT IS NEEDED? HOW ABOUT 7 SECRATIRIES ON PAYROLL FOR A 300 KIDS SCHOOL? HOW ABOUT BUSSES THAT ARE THE HGHEST MODELS TO LEASE? LEASE A BUS NY ALL MEANS? NOT THR HIGHEST ONE THOUGH. IN SHORT THE DO WITH LESS ATTTIDUDE THAT ADMINS LECTURE TO PARENTS DONT APPLY TO THEM. YES A SCHOOL IS COSTLY. NO THE CURRENT RATES ARE WAY OVERODNE. PAY rEBBES AND TEACHERS THE SALARIES THEY DESERVE. Dont ask each parnt for 30 percent increase to pay rebbes more and give them 50 dollars a month more. The schools became coporate eli. not Yeshivos but coooperate.

Chaimel
Chaimel
1 month ago

The main cause is the disappearance of the community school that everyone felt responsible for supporting. Our Mosdos are by and large now private enterprises with no public oversight. The wealthy families & their endowments feel no achrayus in sponsoring a building or funding tuition for these exclusive private schools. This leaves the parents shouldering all the costs.
In addition, historically in Europe, the kosher food industry contributed towards the local cost of the Kehilla through a Kehal tax.
All of us purchase billions of dollars of food yearly from the Heimishe Shechit’as & food distributors, why don’t they return some of of their profits towards the local Yeshiva’s & Beis Yaakovs?
Have you ever seen a Yeshiva building sponsored by a major heimish candy company doing sales in the 100’s of millions? A Kosher Wine company, Kosher Shechita? Kosher Dairy?
Those who profit off our kashrus needs aren’t returning the favor by offering real support for our communal needs.
They should be returning at least a portion of their profits to the communities they service.

Stating the obvious
Stating the obvious
1 month ago

Yeshiva education has almost double the classroom time of public school. So of course it’s more expensive. (Kosher food etc. adds to the cost).

He’s right
He’s right
30 days ago

Mr fried is right. Education is expensive and if we are paying property taxes which go to education then we should have it go towards our kids.

Educated Archy
Educated Archy
1 month ago

Speak to school admins and one thing they will all confirm. Torah Umesora is guilty of messing us all up. They made a big noise about raisng the rebbe salary. Then then claimed they have sponsors to cover the rebbe salary increase and schools would just have to fundraise a little bit. They never pulled through with sponsors and left the shcols hanging dry. This is a known fact and they hurt the public.

Dr. Alex Morales
Dr. Alex Morales
1 month ago

NO! The root cause is unconstitutional taxation of wages. Don’t sugar coat this.

Rebklemson
Rebklemson
30 days ago

Another Round Table annual blame game. And then they’ll bring it up next year at the convention too. And the year after that. Guess what. Your tuition is going to remain high and you are going to be stuck with the bill. Embrace it or get a dog

Yosef
Yosef
30 days ago

I’m surprised no one mentioned Rabbeim getting parsonage.

Doe
Doe
1 month ago

If you don’t control the doe then what

Lavrenty
Lavrenty
1 month ago

Askanim are working on this

Boo
Boo
1 month ago

The root cause is these out of tou h corrupt cult rabbis who are in the pó let’s of the askanim tellling the service class Jews they need to fight the government not them. Maybe if sending your daighters to yeshiva meant that she will go to the best Schools like hardvard and Yoile but it doesn’t mean that it means they Will
Potentially leave religion

Educated Archy
Educated Archy
1 month ago

There has been this big push in recent years to say the rebbe is underpaid and we need to increase his salary. Now disclaimer, I am not saying that a rebbe is rich. I will also be clear that I think a Rebbe today is both skilled and puts in failry long hours incuding at nights prepping and talking to parents. However, mathamtecilly this narrative is simply a complete lie. If one looks at net income they are not underpaid. On top of salary, if the send to the yeshiva they are a rebbe in they receive free tution. They tutor at night charging $100 for 45 minutes. Tips these days can go as high $250 (I know someone who gives $500). They get free food before YT, free chol hamoed trips, free summer vacations etc. The “other” schools where they aren’t a rebbe in that they send to is paid via deducting from their slaray and the yeshva they work for pays the other shcool so that its tax free. Then they receive SNAP, HUD, CHS, WIC, & Medicad.. Do all the math and they make out better than an average middle class. Not everyone but overall on average. Maybe its time to stop crying for the rebbe when parents cant pay the bills either. We got the message and you do OK. Stop raising salaries and then crying for more tuition. Yes we still have hakros hatov but within reason. (PS as someone pointed out fancy shcool buildings and only in prime high value real-estate area also need to stop.)

A REAL YID
A REAL YID
1 month ago

Another “crisis” in the frum community. Sure, the only solution is to squeeze funds from the secular govt you abhor.

HOME SCHOOLING!
HOME SCHOOLING!
1 month ago

NY already does award vouchers to cover expenses of home schooling. Use a yeshiva as the “learning environment” for the -ahem- “home” schooling, and you have your vouchers.

atheistlakewoodguy
atheistlakewoodguy
1 month ago

The “root cause” is pumping out 10 kids and saying hashem will provide when clearly he isnt because there is a crisis. Maybe don’t have more kids than you can afford? its not rocket science

Captain Obvious
Captain Obvious
1 month ago

The root cause is people having more kids than they can afford to send to private school. End of story.
But ch”v should anyone consider finances in that mitzvah so let’s all ignore the elephant in the room.